Just a Child
by Blade the Cyborg
Summary: Samus loses her best friend after the Space Pirate attack. When she becomes the Bounty Hunter she is today, she meets her again, unknown what caused her to come back to life. However, there is a new threat about known as Dark Prime. Where did Dark Prime come from? And how is Samus' best friend alive again? Gandrayda comes in chapter 8.
1. Introduction: Age Six

**Okay, let's get a few things straight here. Ropster is a character who will appear A LOT in my fics. She will mainly take role in the 'Ropster's Adventures' series (which I am writing the first chapter for, and the first story will be under Jak & Daxter), and was going to be in the 'Adventure' series (The other ones are referred to as 'Episodes'), however, I cancelled the idea for the 'Adventure' series. In this fic, she just plays as an OC. **

**Another thing, the Space Pirate attack on K-2L takes place when Samus is about twelve. And some things will be changed/mixed about. No flames, please, I'm a young writer who is trying to make a start. Also, this is my first Metroid fanfic. Enjoy!**

_**Just a Child**_

Samus screamed loudly, ruffling her hair and shaking her head crazily. "Get it out! Get it OUT!" she squealed. Ropster laughed. Finally, Samus managed to get the spider out of her blonde hair. Ropster fell onto her back, crying out with laughter. Now Samus looked as if she had just got out of bed without brushing her hair for weeks. She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, growling angrily. "That's the last time you annoy me this week, Ropster!" she exclaimed, picking up a handful of dirt from the ground and throwing it at Ropster. It hit her in the face, causing some mud stains. However, it was almost invisible in her brown, silky hair. Ropster rubbed her eyes with her hands, which made the dirt go deeper into her eyes. Samus laughed at her. But when she opened her eyes to see Ropster's reaction, she immediately stopped laughing. Ropster threw a mound of dirt at Samus, which made her hair dim, and made her clothes filthy. Ropster, however, had dark hair and very dark clothes, so it didn't matter to her. Besides, she was a rather mucky child.

After dusting the dirt off of her clothing, Samus stood up, then laughed, as did Ropster. Of course, these two were best friends, despite their many differences. Samus was a sweet girl who all of the boys would definitely fall for in the future. She wore a thin light-blue top with long-sleeves, and she wore indigo leggings. Her eyes were green, identical to Ropster's, and her hair was extremely short, but a stunningly bright blonde colour, which really stood out. Though, Samus could sometimes switch to a violent personality when she was angry. She was only six and already having a teenage crisis. Ropster, however, was a daredevil. She was afraid of certain things, but was the kind of child who didn't care how she looked or what danger she was getting herself into. She had almost-straight wavy brown hair, just going past shoulder length by about an inch and a half. She also wore a black V-neck T-shirt and black leggings. Samus sometimes called her "Ninja" because she wore black, also because she was an excellent fighter and a silent runner. Samus had experienced Ropster's fighting skills once – and she never wanted to again.

"Okay, now I'm bored," Ropster announced. "Me too," Samus compared. Ropster looked around. There was plenty of forest to explore. "Why don't we explore the forests?" she suggested. "And get lost forever? I don't think so," Samus responded. "We won't get lost, Sammy!" Ropster assured, smiling. "Unless you're just afraid of big scary monsters jumping out at you!" Samus rolled her eyes. "There are no monsters here on K-2L," she reminded. "I'm just messing with you!" Ropster replied, punching her shoulder. Unbeknownst to Ropster, she probably gave Samus a bruise.

"We're not going in the forest, and there's no way you're gonna make me," Samus finalized, rubbing her shoulder. "Fine, be a coward," Ropster reacted, heading through the trees and into the forest. Samus started walking the other way, until realizing that the forest had surrounded the area she was in, and that she was lost. She then decided to run the way Ropster went and follow her, only that there was no Ropster to follow.

Samus walked cautiously. "Ropster?" she called, quiet. No response. She then smirked and stopped. "Okay, Ropster, I know you're going to jump out of a tree and pretend to be a monster, so don't even try it or I'll smash your face!" she warned. Still no response. "And don't try making stupid noises, either!" Samus added.

Silence.

All Samus could hear was the rustling of the breeze in the trees' leaves. She gulped. Now she was sure that she was alone. Lost.

_With their parents…_

Ebony and Virginia were now both worried. Their daughters should have been back half an hour ago. "Where could they possibly be?" Virginia asked. "I'm not sure," Ebony admitted. "I think Ropster might have decided to go into the forest to explore," "But this whole planet is forest; they could be anywhere!" Virginia reacted, panicking. "If they aren't back in the next half hour, then we may need to start a search party," Ebony planned. "But Rodney is busy mining!" Virginia reminded. "Rufo can help us. Along with a few others," Ebony assured. "And we have to help, as well."

_With Samus…_

There was still nothing, and Samus had been walking for ages. Though, she was sure that she had already been here. "Ropster, where are you?" she shouted out.

_With Ropster…_

Ropster jumped from tree to tree, laughing silently. She had been following Samus the whole time. She truly was a ninja. But when Ropster was about to jump down onto Samus' back, she heard a noise, causing her to look to see where it came from. After a few moments, she targeted back at Samus, who was now gone from the spot. Now Ropster was lost.

Both of the two were now split up, and what Ropster didn't know was that she was going the complete opposite direction of Samus.

_With Samus…_

Still lost. She didn't even know how long she had been walking for. Suddenly, she saw something in the short distance. A group of people. And one she recognised – her father! "Daddy!" she shouted, running towards them. Her father turned his head. "Samus?" he asked. "What are you doing here?" "Ropster and I were in the forest, but we got separated and lost," Samus explained. "Lost?" Samus' father asked. "Is Ropster still out there?" In response, Samus nodded her head. "Alright, then. I'll take you back to mummy and then you and her can try finding her, okay?" her father suggested. Again, Samus nodded. Her father smiled, picking her up and carrying her back to his wife, Virginia.

Once the two were back, Virginia seemed relieved. "Samus, you're alright!" she said happily. "But where's Ropster?" "I don't know," Samus admitted. "We're looking for her," "Why does she always wander off?" Ebony asked. "We better find her."

_With Ropster…_

"Go ninja, go ninja, go! Go ninja, go ninja, go!" Ropster sang, jumping from tree to tree. She then laughed a little. "Samus has got lost again!" she chuckled. "This _always_ happens!" Jumping to the next tree, she realised that the branch was too weak to take her weight, snapping. Ropster attempted to jump up to the tenser branch, but failed, falling from the height.

Ropster screamed in sheer pain when she heard the crack coming from her leg. This was possibly the first time she cried in pain, probably because she's never been seriously injured before. Tears went down her face as she tried to move her leg, but it her too much. How would she get back if she couldn't walk?

_With Samus…_

Ebony heard Ropster screaming. "I think that was Ropster!" she informed the others. Rodney was no longer with them, instead it was Rufo. "Ropster never screams…" Samus pointed out. "She must really be in trouble!" Samus then ran off in the direction she heard the scream. "Samus, wait!" Virginia shouted to her daughter, running after her. Ebony and Rufo had to follow.

Samus started shouting for Ropster. "Ropster! Are you around here!"

_With Ropster…_

Ropster heard Samus shouting. She was uncontrollably crying, unable to shout back. However, she just managed to stutter out,

"I'm here!"

_With Samus…_

Samus just managed to hear the muffled call. "I can hear her!" she informed the adults. She then ran off again. "Samus, please, stop running!" Virginia commanded, running after her again. This time Samus managed to find Ropster, laying down and clutching her leg. She ran over to her. "Ropster! Are you okay?" she asked. Ropster looked up with teary eyes. "Something's wrong with my leg…" she whimpered. The three adults then rushed over. Ebony picked her up carefully yet quickly. "Oh, Ropster! I was so worried about you! What happened?" she asked. "I-I was jumping through the trees… and a branch snapped!" Ropster managed to cry out. "Oh, you told me that you stopped doing that!" Ebony said, disappointed and worried. "But it was just so fun!" Ropster admitted. "But I think I'll stop now… Now I know how dangerous it really is… And it hurts!" "You were lucky you didn't fall and break your neck! We'd better get you back and see to that leg – it'll be a while before you get back outside in your condition."

**-End of Chapter-**

**BEFORE YOU START FLAMING ABOUT HOW POINTLESS THIS CHAPTER WAS IT WAS JUST A CHARACTER INTRODUCTION. It's supposed to show how wimpy Samus was in her childhood, and how cocky Ropster was. It shows that Samus was a goody-two-shoes, always listening to her mother and using her common sense, but Ropster was cocky, dominant, daring, a bit stupid and even lied to her own mother, who cares for her dearly. The first, let's say 6, chapters will be going through years. This one is at age six, next will be age seven, then eight and you get the idea. See you in Chapter 2, age 7!**


	2. Age Seven

**So this chapter is at age seven. The first chapter was only long because it was a character introduction, so I'll make these next few shorter just to get through the years.**

Ropster was looking up at the thousands of trees. It had been about a year since she had stopped climbing them. She sighed sadly, hoping to one day get back up there. Samus then came beside her. "Don't worry, Ninja, you'll one day get back up there in the branches," she said. "Yeah, when I'm an actual ninja," Ropster replied with doubt. "And of course, I'll _never _be an actual ninja," "Just wait until you get a little more grown up – being a little girl and running through trees is… a little dangerous," Samus suggested. "But it's cool doing dangerous stuff," Ropster whined. "What else am I supposed to do now?" "What you've been doing for the past year," Samus suggested. "What we really need to start doing is training for mining."


	3. Age Eight

**Chapter two was short, as will be many of these few because they are pointless, including this one. Just enjoy.**

Samus and her mother were mining for aflortitle with the rest of the colony – including the very bored Ropster. She got tired easily, slumping down to the ground with her pickaxe. "This is _so tiring_!" she complained. "Can't I have a break? Just a _little _break?" "If you want to start jumping through the trees again you should get working," Rufo commanded. Ropster grunted. "Look, Ropster, our colony is on this planet for mining. It's why the Galactic Federation planted us here," Rufo explained. "I know," Ropster reminded her father. "It's just that we've been doing this for hours!" "Are the other kids or adults around here complaining?" Rufo asked. Ropster looked around. Samus was working without making a fuss. So were the other children around her age. She then sighed. "No…" she admitted. She then stood back up and started mining again, with sluggish and lazy movements in her arms.


	4. Age Nine

**And moving on to age nine! This chapter may be a little longer. By the way, I chose theme songs for both Samus and Ropster at this stage. Samus has 'Womanizer' by Brittney Spears and Ropster has 'Ninja Rap' by Vanilla Ice. The lyrics sort of don't fit with them, though. But some do.**

Samus was holding up a wooden plank vertically, flinching as she held it. "Ready, Sammy?" Ropster asked. "Uh… I suppose…" Samus responded hesitantly, shaking. "Alright!" Ropster shouted confidently, running towards Samus. Samus tightly shut her eyes, hearing as Ropster ran closer. Ropster then jumped in the air and kicked upwards, and as she did she broke the plank in half, various splinters falling to the ground.

"Yet again, I succeed!" Ropster said happily. Samus dropped her arms to her side, dropping both halves of the plank as she did. "Ropster, I'm no karate teacher," she reminded her friend. "If anyone your father should be teaching you." Ropster pulled a rather bratty face when Samus said that. "All he teaches me is how to mine afloratitle!" she said grumpily. Ropster then looked up at the trees. Samus looked in the same direction, then back at her. "Don't even think about it!" she said like a mother. Ropster appeared to have totally blanked her, running up to the tree she had her eye on and ran up the trunk into the leaves.

Samus looked up after the rustling went silent shortly after. "…Ropster?" she asked. Just as she asked that, another rustle was heard, along with a black-clothed figure jumping over her head. It was Ropster, jumping to the next tree. Samus followed her as she jumped, and she eventually decided to jump down, smiling. "It's great up there, you know that?" she asked. "Only because you're a ninja," Samus responded, smiling. Ropster smiled back. "Yeah, only 'cause I'm a ninja," Ropster repeated, sounding as if trying to be cool.

_With Ropster's parents…_

Ebony saw Ropster and Samus returning, but the two blanked the two grown-ups, too engaged in their conversation. Ebony smiled and sighed happily. "She grows up fast, doesn't she?" she asked her husband. Rufo nodded. "Rodney's daughter has grown up more, though, that's for sure," he pinioned. Ebony chuckled a little. "One day Ropster will become more sensible," she assured Rufo. "I know, but she's one of the oldest children in this colony – she should be setting a good example, not running up trees and scaring people," Rufo replied. "She's just so… different from the other kids. How did she and Samus even become friends in the first place?" "Because we were friends with Virginia and Rodney," Ebony answered. "Which, of course, lead to them becoming friends," "Not all kids become friends with their parents' friends child," Rufo corrected. "I think Ropster might be a bit… manipulative."


	5. Age Ten

**We're nearing the end hear, aren't we? Then we can start the REAL story! Let's see what happens here…**

Ropster was chucking knives at a target on the metallic wall while Samus was trying to speak to her. "Okay then, so we have barely managed to mine any afloratitle in the past week, some of the workers have gone missing, we discover that there may be another colony of humans here and you're just stood here throwing knives at a target!" Samus recapped, sounding a little frustrated with Ropster throwing the knives. Ropster was down to her last one, then looked at Samus. "Hey, Samus, stand in front of that target, will you?" she requested. _'Is she deaf?' _Samus thought. "No way!" she reacted almost immediately. "Trust me, just stand there," Ropster repeated. Samus folded her arms, staying where she stood. "No," she answered more calmly. "I don't trust you," "_Seriously? _After all we've been through and the how long we've known each other, you don't trust me?" Ropster asked, shocked. "We have known each other since we were three years old!" "Yeah, back then you weren't lobbing knives at a freaking target," Samus corrected. Ropster sighed, throwing the knife up slightly and then catching it by the handle. She began walking out, and without turning around to face the target, she threw the knife backwards towards it, getting a perfect hit in the middle.

Samus followed Ropster out. "We really should be heading back out to the quarry," Samus advised. "We need to help with the mining for the afloratitle!" "That's what the grown-ups should be doing," Ropster corrected. "We should just be screwing around," "We're old enough to understand about mining!" Samus reminded. "So?" Ropster asked. "The toddlers are, too. We can be any age to understand about mining!" Samus rolled her eyes. "How about this for a plan: You go back and start throwing knives again while I head down to the quarry," Samus suggested. "Why are you so determined to help out?" Ropster asked. "Unlike you, I think about others," Samus replied. "That's the third time you've said 'unlike you' since this morning," Ropster counted.

Again, Samus rolled her eyes. "Can you be serious?" she asked. Ropster shrugged. "Not really," she answered. Samus sighed. "What are you planning on doing now?" she asked Ropster. "I'm going to try and find the missing humans," Ropster answered. "Okay, I suppose that is kind of a mature thing to do…" Samus admitted. "It isn't, actually," Ropster corrected, smiling immaturely. "I'm just a daredevil!" With that, Ropster ran off through the trees. Samus sighed again, rolling her eyes at the same time and heading off to the quarry. "What are we going to do with her?" she asked herself rhetorically.

Ropster had found another knife in her knife-holder. Each tree she jumped she carved a number on so that she could find her way back. She was up to 168 right now, moving on to number 169 – and she was barely tired yet. There were no signs of any human activity. She was beginning to think; what if the missing humans she was looking for were taken by the other humans on this planet? Maybe if they found her she'd be in some serious trouble…

Samus walked over to her mother. "Is there anything you want me to do, mum?" she asked. Virginia was looking at what looked like a blueprint map – a map of the tunnels they were digging. "I think it's best that you and the other children just sit out mining for a while," she answered. "It's fair," "Alright," Samus reacted. "Are you sure you don't need any help?" "I'm sure, Samus," Virginia assured, smiling at her daughter. Samus smiled back slightly, then leaving the quarry. She felt guilty that she couldn't help out, hoping that the miners would get a little further with their progress.

Ropster climbed to the very top of a tree, looking at the view of the never-ending forest and the mountains in the distance. Still no signs of any humans. Just trees and mountains. But just as Ropster was about to climb down from the tree, she saw something high up in the sky. It looked like a pterodactyl. Or maybe even a dragon. For sure it was some creature with wings – and Ropster knew from her handful of knowledge that this thing wasn't from K-2L.

The creature flew until it disappeared into the clouds. Ropster was curious for a moment, then jumping to the tree behind her, heading back to where she started from. "What was that thing?" she asked herself. "I hope it was just a bird…" Ropster then followed all of the numbered trees all the way back to the colony.

Sitting outside of the metallic structure that all the humans lived in, Samus remained bored. She had now learnt to never follow Ropster into the forest, because she'd always end up getting lost.

Samus then saw Ropster coming out of the forest and towards her, looking a little frightened. And, surprisingly, serious.

"You look serious," Samus pointed out. "I just saw something, that's all," Ropster responded. "Humans?" Samus asked, hoping that that was the answer. Ropster shook her head. "I couldn't see any humans," she replied. "But I saw this… thing. It looked like a dragon," "Are you trying to trick me or something?" Samus asked. "Because it's not gonna work," "I'm being serious!" Ropster snapped. "Are you sure that it wasn't a bird?" Samus questioned. "That's what I was thinking," Ropster revealed. "But it couldn't have been – it looked so… weird…" "Let's face it, Ropster; you think that _everything _looks weird," Samus corrected. "And you barely notice that you're weird," "Very funny," Ropster said sarcastically. "I really think we should warn people – it could be trying to eat us or something!" "You sound like a five year-old," Samus grunted, beginning to walk away. "Let me know when you've finally got over this situation."

Flying around the entire planet, observing. Not many life forms of such, but he had seen them. They were rather intelligent little parasites. What were they called again? Oh yes – humans. Human beings. He had seen the chief human of the pack. He was leading them all. Just the same as this dragon-like leader waiting to destroy this petite planet. He was to expand his rule over the galaxies, and become a true ruler. Only his kind could rule now.

Only his kind.


	6. Age Eleven

**If you still don't know who the 'dragon' is then you can't possibly be a Metroid fan – unless you're just becoming one. Also, the 'CD Player' situation in this was inspired by one of my rubbish Metroid vids on YouTube.**

Ropster was listening to 'Ninja Rap' by Vanilla Ice on her CD player. She loved Vanilla Ice, and his songs. And for some strange reason, she felt that 'Ninja Rap' was practically made for her. She loved raps, and she was like a ninja. Only, she wasn't a turtle. And there were no villains. Although, that's what Ropster wanted – villains.

Samus marched into the room with her hands clamped onto her ears. "Turn that garbage off!" she hollered. "No," Ropster replied, turning it up. Samus growled, frustrated. She trudged right to the CD player and kicked it hard, causing it to emit static. Seconds later 'Womanizer' came on. Ropster started hitting the 'back' button, but it didn't work. "You idiot! You broke it!" she snapped. Samus smirked proudly. "I know," she answered, sounding confident. Ropster kicked the CD player harder than Samus did, and on came 'Omen' by the Prodigy. "The karate lessons never paid off!" she smirked. Samus frowned at first, and then grinned. "At least I earned some benefit from those lessons, too!" she countered, kicking the CD player even harder than Ropster did. 'Caramelldansen' came on. Ropster was surprised that Samus managed to kick harder than her. However, she didn't give up. The two were kicking the CD player for a while, the songs getting worse each time, until they both kicked at the same time and the CD player exploded.

The two coughed as they wafted the smoke away. But they didn't start lashing out with each other - they laughed. It was humorous that they just blew a CD player up. Now Samus realised why Ropster loved being so careless and destructive – because it was actually fun. Perhaps Samus should be like this more often.

"I must admit, you have some powerful kicks," Ropster admitted. Samus smiled. "All thanks to you kicking those wooden planks than you made me hold up," she said. "After I started keeping my eyes open I learned a few techniques." Ropster laughed a little. "You know, before our parents see us covered in soot we should get cleaned up," she recommended. Samus ruffled her short, blonde hair, seeing as the black specks fell out of it. "Yeah, I suppose…" she agreed. "Let's head to the shower room, Ropsy!"

After having a shower and blow-drying their hair, Samus and Ropster headed outside to get some fresh air. Ropster sat on the branch of a tree, which was quite low. She also helped Samus get up, too. This was the main reason she was low – otherwise she would never be able to get her back down.

"Ever wondered how we go our names?" Ropster asked. Samus shook her head. "I don't think about it. Why?" she questioned. "Because I find some of our names… rather odd. Especially our names," Ropster answered. Samus laughed slightly. "Well, we can all agree that your name is the strangest," she said. "Well, you're name is pretty strange, too!" Ropster compared. "I know," Samus replied. "But yours in particular is strange. Ropster. It's not even a name," "Neither is Samus," Ropster compared. "At least it sounds like a name," Samus finalized. "I suppose…" Ropster agreed, giving up.

Samus looked up to the sky. "Last year you said that you saw a dragon, didn't you?" she asked Ropster. "Well… I did," Ropster responded. "Yeah, but we haven't seen it yet," Samus continued. "Maybe we were so well hidden that it couldn't find us?" "Oh, so you believe me now?" Ropster asked. "I trust you, so, yeah. I believe you," Samus answered. "Last year you didn't, though," Ropster reminded. "You were asking me to stand in front of a target while you threw a knife. How do you think I would react?" Samus questioned. "I was just going to put an apple on your head and throw it at the apple at the same time as getting a bulls-eye," Ropster answered. "I still wouldn't have trusted you if you had told me that," Samus reacted. "Would you trust me now?" Ropster asked. "Maybe," Samus replied. "Just to prove it, let's do it!" Ropster said, jumping off the branch. "I would if I could get down…" Samus mumbled. Ropster sighed.


	7. Final Year: Age Twelve

**Final chapter on K-2L!**

Everything had improved on mining the afloratitle. However, more workers had disappeared. Each time a group went out to look for them, only one or two would return alive, saying that they had no idea how the others disappeared before their eyes. Some would say that they saw aliens, but they weren't believed – not even Ropster believed this nonsense. But Ropster was feeling very confident, deciding to head off through the forests once again to try finding the missing workers.

Samus caught sight of Ropster going again, running up to her and grabbing her arm in a firm grip, but not strong enough to hold Ropster for very long. "Where are you going?" she asked. "To find what's really causing the workers to disappear," Ropster answered. "Alone?" Samus questioned. "Yes," Ropster replied, pulling her arm from Samus' hold. "Then I'm going with you," Samus confirmed. "You must be stupid to go out there on your own with nothing to defend yourself with," "I have my karate abilities," Ropster said. "That's not enough!" Samus snapped. "You're twelve years old going off on your own with nothing to help yourself with, and everyone who has gone missing is over the age of about eighteen and disappeared in groups! You sound crazy when you try going out there by yourself!" "I'm older than you, Samus, I know what I'm doing," Ropster assured. "Might I also point out that I'm taller and stronger?" "It doesn't matter!" Samus shouted. "You could be dealing with an army and you wouldn't care!" "Come with me, then," Ropster said. "I promise you we should be fine – as long as you keep up with me." Ropster then started walking off into the forest, Samus following her from behind.

Ropster jumped through trees, occasionally coming back down to the ground. Thankfully Samus managed to follow her closely. At one point when Ropster was down, she found a red puddle. She admired it closely. "Blood," she said to Samus. "Eww," Samus reacted. "Okay, maybe I shouldn't have offered to come," she gagged. Ropster walked ahead, finding small droplets of bloods on the ground. She followed the trail, until bumping into a small, muddy hill. "We may have discovered where everyone has disappeared to," she whispered, climbing over the hill and peeking her head over it. There was a torn body in front of a gigantic dragon.

The two almost-teens gasped quietly, trying not to catch attention. Samus then lost her support in her arms after trying to get a closer look, falling down the drop towards the dragon. She rubbed her temple, looking up. The dragon-creature was glaring at her with a cold stare.

Samus crawled backwards away from it, but it approached her, emitting a low growl. Samus flinched, still with her eyes open and looking at the creature. But before it could do anything, Ropster through a rock at it, hitting the side of its head. However, it did no harm to the beast. All it did was anger it. The dragon sharply turned its head towards her, the growl becoming louder. "Oh, crud!" Ropster grunted, running off. The dragon looked back at Samus, who was still afraid. It then spread out its swings and flew off following Ropster. Samus used this time to climb back up the small hill and return to the colony.

After a few minutes of running, Samus could hear the faint flapping of wings behind her, getting closer and louder. She continued to run. It was following her. She didn't even want to look back, though she could feel it behind her. But she had finally made it back. She was safe.

Not for long.

Samus had just realised that she had lead the dragon right to where she stayed, and she was also cornered against the metallic structure she stayed in. She had her back against the wall, knowing that she was about to die. That was, until her mother grabbed hold of her. She pulled her daughter away and ran inside, the dragon smashing the wall down just after they were inside. "Samus, get to shelter!" Virginia shouted, running an alternative way outside to lure the beast away from her daughter. Samus did as she was told, running off to find shelter.

Ebony and Rufo were looking for Ropster. "Ropster!" Ebony shouted. "Ropster, where are you?" "She's probably with Samus," Rufo assured. "We have to get everyone to safety!"

Much time had passed. Samus was still hiding in a small closet. Everything had become silent. Samus decided to open the door slowly. Everything was smashed and destroyed; including people. Samus headed outside. Blood everywhere. Bodies everywhere. "Mum?" Samus asked, walking slowly amongst the scattered limbs and organs. "Dad?" There was no response. Samus found Ebony and Rufo lying next to each other, covered in blood. Rufo's eyes were missing, as were some of his fingers. Ebony just had a huge tear in her guts, which were spilled. Samus covered her mouth with both of her hands, holding back a scream. She felt like she was going to be sick.

Samus continued her way through the masses of bodies and intestines, hoping to find her parents alive. She thought that thought too soon. She found her parents, alright. But they were in the same condition as Ebony and Rufo. Samus fell to her knees beside them, uncontrollably sobbing. "No…" she sobbed. "NO!" She wailed and bawled, waterfalls streaming down her pale face. Samus held her mother's battered hand, resting her forehead against hers.

After a long time of grieving, Samus stood back to her feet; red around her eyes. She went into the annihilated forest, running to find Ropster. She then came to a stop. Ropster was laying on her front on one of the branches. She had a large flesh wound on the side of her head, blood spilling from it. Various bruises were planted on her face, too. Her lip bled, along with her eyes. Ropster's clothing was torn, blood spilling from the tears. Bruises and cuts covered the arms. Blood spilled from the tears in the black leggings. Once again, tears welled up in Samus' eyes.

Hesitant, Samus walked over to Ropster, looking up at her. "Ropster…" she muffled. "That… that thing… it must have killed you…" Again Samus spent time to mourn, but as she did she felt angry. Rage boiled her blood and her eyes turned from green to a glowing scarlet colour. That's how she felt, anyway. Samus then roared angrily into the sky, letting out all of her anger. She then collapsed, and passed out cold.

Samus woke up somewhere else. She wanted to be dead. That's all she wanted. Her friend and parents were dead. Why was she still alive? Or was she just in the afterlife?

Everything then became clear. Samus sat herself up, and was looking at some bird-like creatures. Samus was about to scream, but was too frightened to even let one out of her mouth. Right now she was petrified. One of the creatures stepped forwards, looking slightly older than the others. "W-Who are you…?" Samus stuttered out. The creature smiled. "We are the Chozo," he answered. "We found you unconscious on the planet K-2L near a dead girl in a tree." Samus remembered everything. The dragon. The blood. The death off everyone she grew up with – including Ropster.

A tear came out of Samus' eye, clenching her fists angrily. "That dragon killed them all…" she growled. "We know," the old creature replied. "He was a Space Pirate known as Ridley – the leader of the Space Pirate race," "How can I be sure that you're not a Space Pirate?" Samus asked suspiciously and cautiously. The creature chuckled. "Such an exploring mind," he said. "Like I answered; we are the Chozo and I am Old Bird."

Samus tried to stand, but felt too tired. "You need to rest, child," Old Bird said. "You must have been through a lot in order to survive that attack. Also, we have infused you with Chozo DNA," "Why?" Samus asked. "So that you can survive as a soldier," Old Bird answered.


	8. First Encounters

**I'm not going through any more childhood years now – straight onto the Bounty Hunter! And yes, Gandrayda does appear in this chapter.**

Samus walked to the GFS Olympus briefing room, where a meeting was called by Admiral Dane. Several other Bounty Hunters were called, too. Samus learned their names quite quickly – Rundas, Ghor and Gandrayda.

The four stood in the meeting, awaiting what they were called for. Admiral Dane stepped forwards. "As you may already know, you have been employed because we have discovered a new threat," he began. That they didn't actually know. Admiral Dane continued. He showed a holographic 3D image of the threat, which looked very much like Dark Samus. In fact, since the image was a transparent blue, it was a complete facsimile of her. But it wasn't Dark Samus. "Samus, you think you've encountered her before, don't you?" Admiral Dane asked, noticing the way Samus was looking at it. Samus nodded. "Dark Samus is the one you have encountered, correct?" Admiral Dance questioned. Samus nodded again. "Well, to our surprise, this creature is not Dark Samus. She is known as Dark Prime."

Samus looked at the image again, observing it carefully. Admiral Dane then switched it so that there were labels pointing to it. "However, we have discovered that she and Dark Samus have a connection with each other. We just don't know what it is yet. That's when you come in. Samus, you and Gandrayda are together in this one. Rundas, Ghor, you two are together. Both of you pairs have to go separate ways in order to find and eliminate the Dark Prime before she does anything too dangerous for us to take on." Rundas and Ghor left right away. Samus nodded to the Admiral and followed Gandrayda as she hopped out of the briefing room.

"Come on, Sammy, keep up!" Gandrayda laughed, jumping and cartwheeling ahead of Samus. Samus didn't find this amusing or helpful, just walking to her Gunship. Gandrayda then whistled when reaching the ship. "I must say, your ship looks pretty cool, Sammy…" she admitted, then turning to face Samus. "Are you both related?" Samus ignored her comment, boarding her ship. Gandrayda followed.

Samus started up her ship. "Fasten your seatbelt," she commanded Gandrayda as she took off. "Fasten your seatbelt," Gandrayda repeated. Samus turned to face her. She looked like Samus' twin. Samus felt slightly humiliated. Gandrayda then reverted back to her normal state, laughing a little. "Don't worry, Samus, it will actually be a useful skill," she assured. "Depending on which form I take, of course."

The ship landed on the planet Bryyo, where Dark Prime was apparently last located. The two Bounty Hunters exited the ship, beginning to search for the armoured being. "If you see a black humanoid with a red visor, terminate it," Samus commanded. "We have to split up," "How about I just terminate any hostile humanoid or bioform?" Gandrayda suggested. "…Fine," Samus answered. "But stay cautious." Samus then ran in a different direction to Gandrayda.

While searching for Dark Prime, Samus realised that Gandrayda was just as cocky and stupid as a certain friend Samus once had – Ropster. She even called her Sammy – nobody did that. Only Ropster would call her Sammy. Samus tried to shake the memories off, focusing on the hunt for Dark Prime.

Gandrayda was looking around, as silent as a ninja. Another thing she and Ropster had in common. "Here, darky, darky, darky, darky!" Gandrayda called, as if trying to find a lost pet dog. "I'm not gonna hurt you – much, anyway…" There was still a silence. "Okay, I lied, I'm actually gonna seriously hurt you. Unless, of course, I kill you quickly enough…" Gandrayda then saw a figure with its back to her. "Samus? I'm pretty sure you went the other way," she said. Only when the figure turned around…

Darkest shade of blue. Icy blue visor in the shape of the letter 'Y'…

Dark Samus.

Gandrayda gasped, backing away slightly. "This can't be good…" she gulped.

Before she had time to move, Dark Samus grappled Gandrayda and sent Phazon into her, trying to corrupt her. Gandrayda shrieked.

Samus heard Gandrayda's faint shriek, immediately heading over in her morph ball form. When turning bipedal, she pointed her arm cannon at Dark Samus, immediately firing at her. This caused Dark Samus to disengage the grapple beam, turning her attention to her good twin. Both of the two were now having a stand-off; both pointing their arm-cannons at each other. "Get behind me, Gandrayda!" Samus commanded/ Gandrayda did as she was told, standing behind Samus. Samus prepared for a battle.

Dark Samus fired at Samus, but Samus turned into a morph ball and swiftly moved out of the way, then turning bipedal. She fired a charged plasma blast at her doppelganger, then three seeker missiles. Dark Samus moved around quickly and sharply, making it very difficult for Samus to shoot at her. Gandrayda also tried her best to help out, by taking form of Dark Samus and attacking her.

The fight ended quickly. Dark Samus took a few steps back, and then flew off into the distance. "…Why did she retreat?" Gandrayda asked. "…I'm not too sure…" Samus replied. "But she'll be back." Gandrayda was looking on top one of the mountains, seeing another figure similar to Samus'. "Hey, Samus, I think she's already returned…" she corrected, gesturing to the mountain top. Samus looked up. Nothing was there. She looked back at Gandrayda. "Stop trying to humiliate me – it won't end well," she warned, walking away. Gandrayda walked a separate way.

Walking through the ruins of a temple, Samus heard quick, quiet footsteps. She pointed her arm cannon in the direction where she heard the footsteps. There was nobody there. "Show yourself!" Samus demanded. Nobody revealed themselves. Samus walked cautiously, until hearing the steps behind her. It sounded as if somebody was running to try and get past her. She turned quickly, but still, nobody was there. She headed back the other way this time, the way she entered from. Still nothing. The footsteps were then heard to her left, and she turned immediately, aiming at whatever was making them. There was a human girl standing there, wearing a black Zero Suit with an orange 'R' for the logo. Her hair was about three inches lower than her shoulder, but Samus couldn't tell the colour of her eyes. The girl gasped, turning around and running off. Samus was about to follow, until remembering the objective – find and terminate Dark Prime.

Samus was still looking for her primary target. There was no sign of it. But that child reminded her of Ropster… but it couldn't have been – Ropster was dead. Samus saw her corpse with her own eyes. And she hadn't heard from her since.

Was Samus going insane?

Gandrayda was also searching for Dark Prime. What did she look like again? Ah, yes; she looked like Dark Samus but had a black suit, a red visor, the top half of her shoulder-pads are blue and she had yellow lights on her chest-plait. Shouldn't be hard to spot, right? Not many beings actually wore power-suits. Gandrayda could only list Samus, Dark Samus and Dark Prime. All girls.

All of a sudden, something shot Gandrayda in the back. She turned quickly.

Red visor.

Yellow lights.

Black armour.

Gandrayda got ready for battle. However, she noticed something about Dark Prime. She was about the height of a child. This caused Gandrayda to laugh a little, until it became maniacal. Dark Prime growled like an alien creature, knowing that she was being humiliated. Reacting, she pointed her dark turquoise arm cannon and targeted Gandrayda, shooting at her. Gandrayda jumped out of the way. "You know, Darky, you really need to stop bullying people – didn't your mother ever tell you that?" she taunted. Dark Prime sent an even stronger blast, feeling insulted. This one Gandrayda could not avoid, and was knocked back a little.

Before the actual fight could begin, Samus made her way over, eyes locked on Dark Prime as were her seeker missiles. Dark Samus then came by Dark Prime's side. It was just too obvious that they were together on something, but what? Now this was a serious stand-off – Samus and Gandrayda vs. Dark Samus and Dark Prime. Gandrayda still found it hilarious that Dark Prime was about half the size of Dark Samus. But Samus took it seriously. She thought that Dark Prime had a connection with the kid in the Zero Suit. In fact, it might as well have been her. Why else would she be the same height and wear a Zero Suit?

The four then fired their attacks at the same time. Samus fired a seeker missile at Dark Prime, Dark Samus shot a regular blast at Samus, Dark Prime shot at Gandrayda with a charged blast and Gandrayda shot at Dark Samus with a homing energy blade. All of them took damage.

"Which one should I take on, Sammy?" Gandrayda asked. "Leave Dark Samus to me!" Samus answered, shooting at Dark Samus. Gandrayda knew that obviously this meant that she had to take on Dark Prime. And so, the battle commenced.

Dark Samus created an echo which was targeting Gandrayda. Samus shot at it, but that was Dark Samus' plan – Samus would try defending Gandrayda from the echo, giving her the advantage of shooting her. Samus then performed a screw attack. The Dark Echo went down quite easily, but Samus knew that it would take a few battles to take down Dark Samus.

Dark Prime jumped on Gandrayda's black, using its left hand to scratch her hard. Gandrayda flung her off. She created a shockwave and sent it towards Dark Prime, electrocuting her. Dark Prime let out an alien-like screech. Gandrayda then threw more homing energy blades. Dark Prime retaliated by sending her own attack called the Phazon Wave. It was a dangerous attack for those who didn't use Phazon in their attacks – it was an attack to help corrupt beings. Luckily Gandrayda managed to jump over it. "So, you want to play rough, kid?" Gandrayda asked. "Fine; let's play rough!"

Samus had been shot down by Dark Samus, who was no standing over her. Samus tried getting back to her feet. Dark Samus was pointing her arm cannon to her head, ready to finish off her "good self". However, she was shot in the back by a harmless blast of energy. It annoyed her, causing her to turn around sharply. Dark Prime had shot her. At first Dark Samus felt betrayed, until realising what the signal was. She looked back at Samus, who was already prepared to attack now that she had had the time. Dark Samus then fell back with Dark Prime.

Gandrayda came to Samus' side, offering her hand to help her up. Samus got up by herself, not needing Gandrayda's aid. "Why do they keep retreating?" Gandrayda asked. "Are they planning something?" "Maybe," Samus responded. "We will have to wait and see. We better inform the Galactic Federation about our encounter with Dark Prime." Samus then headed back to her Gunship, Gandrayda following behind.


	9. Memories

**Forgive me if I've made Gandrayda too hyper and childish, but from my view it's quite a fitting personality. Although, I may calm her down a bit. And if you're waiting for Ropster she may come back fully in the next chapter. **

Samus had set her coordinates to land on Norion. She contacted Admiral Dane, letting him know where Dark Prime was last located. She also informed him to let the other hunters know so that they didn't spend days and nights searching in pointless spots. "So… Why exactly are we heading to Norion?" Gandrayda asked. "Dark Samus is there," Samus answered. "But not Dark Prime," "Where do you think Dark Prime might be?" Gandrayda questioned. Samus didn't answer. This was a sign that she didn't know.

After a few minutes the two landed on Norion. Gandrayda was the first out of the ship. Before Samus got out, she saw a kid standing in the distance. "Hey…" she said quietly. "What's a kid doing out here all alone?" The kid then ran off through the structures. "Hey, wait!" Gandrayda shouted out, running after her.

Samus left her Gunship after a quick communication with Rundas. She looked around. "Gandrayda?" she asked, noticing that the young huntress wasn't there. Samus sighed, shaking her head slowly. She then headed off in search for Dark Samus.

Gandrayda could no longer see the child. "Where'd she go?" she asked herself, looking around like a hawk. She then heard running behind her, causing her to turn quickly. "Hey, kid, wait!" Gandrayda called, running after her. "You shouldn't be out here alone; it's dangerous!"

Samus heard Gandrayda shouting nearby, following from where she heard the echo. She saw Gandrayda running after that kid.

The same kid from Bryyo…

How could she be here?

Gandrayda then stopped running, turning around to Samus, knowing that she was there already. "I can't keep up with her…" she panted. Samus just walked past her. The child had gone.

Gandrayda caught up with Samus. "I couldn't help it Samus, she was too fast!" she excused. She noticed that Samus was just standing still, as if not listening to her. Like she was in a daze. "…Samus?" Gandrayda asked. Still no answer. "…Are you alright?" Samus was having unwanted flashbacks, which almost came out of nowhere.

"_Okay, now I'm bored."_

"_But it's cool doing dangerous stuff."_

"_This is so tiring!"_

"_Yet again, I succeed!"_

"_That's the third time you've said 'unlike you' since this morning."_

"_I must admit, you have some powerful kicks."_

"_Oh, crud!"_

Gandrayda was waving her hand in front of Samus' face. "Hello? Galactic Federation to Samus Aran?" she asked.

As Gandrayda spoke to Samus, Samus could only hear the words in her mother's voice. The flashback was too realistic for her to even notice Gandrayda.

"_Samus? Samus, snap out of it!"_

It still sounded like her mother. "Mum?" she asked. "SAMUS!" Gandrayda bellowed. Samus almost fell back, coming back to reality. She looked at Gandrayda angrily. "Samus, what the heck was that all about?" Gandrayda asked her. Samus then stopped giving her death glare, realising what had happened. "Sorry…" she apologized. "Just… never mind, let's just find Dark Samus – finding her will lead us to Dark Prime."

Samus and Gandrayda headed out to the perimeter. On the way, Gandrayda started a conversation. "Do you think Dark Prime is a little… odd?" she asked. "Not particularly, why?" Samus responded. "Well… First off, she is the size of a kid. Second, she shot Dark Samus to tell her to retreat," Gandrayda explained. "I don't think that's normal," "You may not think something is normal, but that doesn't mean that it isn't normal officially," Samus corrected. "Yeah, but I've never seen a child-sized being," Gandrayda added. "A _prime _being." Gandrayda then had a theory. "Hey! Maybe Dark Prime is Dark Samus' daughter!" Samus looked at her oddly, then shook her head slowly, thinking that Gandrayda's theory was a little stupid. "If Dark Samus had a daughter, I'd be a little scared," she pinioned. "And hopefully wouldn't be anything to do with me."

Now the two were outside of the perimeter, looking for another entrance. That's when a familiar flapping sound was heard. "What's that?" Gandrayda asked. Samus clenched her fist and readier her arm cannon. "I think I know…" she growled, turning around. "Ridley!"

Ridley swooped down towards them both, charging up a Phazon attack from his mouth. "What are we supposed to do?" Gandrayda asked in a panic. Samus didn't have time to answer, running towards Ridley and jumping up. She jumped onto his long snout and sent a missile down his mouth. He screeched deafeningly, grabbing Samus with his talon. He tried doing the same attack, but Samus shot a missile down his throat again. That was her last missile.

Gandrayda tried to help Samus by sending a shockwave at him, which caused him no harm. He looked at her with annoyance. "Uh-oh," Gandrayda gulped, backing away. Samus was about to fire at Ridley to get his attention back on her, until he was shot by some plasma blast similar to her own. Floating there was Dark Prime.

"Okay, seriously, how did she get here?" Gandrayda asked. Ridley growled, screeching at Dark Prime. He flew towards her, but she charged an attack. Her black suit became a glowing white colour as she scrunched herself up into a ball, then straightening again as she unleashed a tsunami of dark and blue. "Get out of the way!" Samus yelled to Gandrayda, running through the nearest door. Gandrayda followed, at the same time as watching Ridley drown in the wave, screeching. Gandrayda leapt to the door, but was caught ever so slightly in the attack, falling to her front. She grunted slightly, then getting back to her feet. "I'm beginning to wonder who's side she's on," she admitted. "Ridley and Dark Samus do not work together, so she's probably been ordered to kill the Space Pirate Leader," Samus corrected.

Gandrayda looked back outside to try spotting Dark Prime, but didn't see her. "She's gone again," she informed Samus. "That isn't my objective right now, I must find Dark Samus and eliminate her first," Samus replied, heading into the building. "That isn't my objective right now, I must find Dark Samus and eliminate her first," Gandrayda repeated in her Samus form, in Samus' voice but sounding as if mocking. Samus turned to face her angrily. Gandrayda chuckled nervously, morphing back into her usual form.

Samus walked on ahead, Gandrayda following from about a meter behind. "So, Sammy, why do you think we can never track down Dark Prime?" Gandrayda questioned. "I'm not the kind of person who can answer those sorts of questions," Samus replied. "Have you even tried scanning her yet?" Gandrayda asked. "In battle it is difficult to scan a hostile opponent while they are using strong attack strategies," Samus responded. "Well, you seem to have scanned everything else," Gandrayda pointed out. "Ropster, just be quiet!" Samus interrupted, getting frustrated with Gandrayda's questions. "Ropster?" Gandrayda asked. "My name is Gandrayda, not Ropster. Are you okay, Sammy?" Samus realised what she had just said. "Sorry…" she apologized calmly. "It's just… you remind me of someone…" Samus then decided to shake it off her mind. "Let's just continue the mission, Gandrayda. We never know what Dark Samus and Dark Prime are planning."

And so they were still walking for about ten minutes, until stopping for a break. "When we find Dark Samus I'm gonna kill her for making us walk this far!" Gandrayda complained. "That's basically why we're looking for her," Samus corrected. "Really?" Gandrayda asked. Before Samus could answer, a scream was heard from outside. The two both turned their heads in the direction they heard the scream come from. "We'd better check that out!" Gandrayda stated, running ahead. Samus ran behind.


	10. Back from the Grave

**You all know who's coming in this chapter! And I apologize deeply, but I really can't get Gandrayda's characteristics right!**

Running outside, Dark Samus came into view. She was approaching the young girl who was backed against the wall in fear. "Samus, look!" Gandrayda pointed, although Samus was already looking. Dark Samus turned to face them. The girl used this time to run away through the door, hiding in horror. "You should follow her," Gandrayda advised. "We have to take on Dark Samus, first!" Samus replied. "I'll keep her distracted, you find that kid!" Gandrayda planned. "Dark Samus has more power than you think she has!" Samus responded. "Trust me, I'll manage!" Gandrayda assured. "You won't," Samus corrected. Dark Samus knew what they were talking about, and would have smirked if only she had a mouth. She jumped off the edge of the platform. Samus and Gandrayda looked over, and she was gone. "Something's up," they both said in unison.

"Alright, Sammy, you go after that kid while I keep watch. If anything dangerous comes I'll let you know, if it's no threat I'll handle it myself," Gandrayda explained. "Sounds like a plan," Samus agreed. "But when you say that you'll inform me straight away about the hostile attackers, you must inform me _immediately _– no trying to take it out on your own. Understand?" "I understand," Gandrayda finalized. "I'm not a little kid, you know, Sammy!" "Then behave like you're not one," Samus ordered, running through the door.

Samus looked around every section of every room for the girl. She eventually came into sight on her visor. The second she saw Samus she ran away. Samus ran after her. She then started walking to make herself look less threatening. She turned a corner, and saw the child hugging her knees with her back against the wall, looking at Samus fearfully. Samus walked closer to her, but the child only tightly shut her eyes and flinched. "Are you alright?" Samus asked. The girl looked at her. "…Y-Y-You're not like… _her_, are you?" she asked. "Who?" Samus questioned curiously. "That… thing…" the child replied. "The one that tried to attack me…" Samus knew who she was talking about. "No, I'm not like her," she answered. "Then why do you look like her?" the child asked, suspicious yet frightened. "It's complicated," Samus responded. "But my comrade and I are trying to stop her and her helper."

The girl nodded, understanding. However, she was still frightened of Samus. She looked very intimidating in that armour. The girl wasn't even sure that it _was _armour. "So, kid, where are your parents?" Samus asked. "…They're dead…" the girl answered sadly. "My home was attacked by these… creatures… and they were killed by them… Nobody survived – not even I did…" "If you didn't survive, then how are you here?" asked Samus. "I'm not sure…" the girl answered. "But I wish that I wasn't here…" "I understand you," Samus assured. "I, too, was the only one left from an attack by possibly the same race of creatures that attacked your home. I fell unconscious by my dead friend and woke up on another planet known as Zebes, but I just wished that I had died…" "Is that copy of you part of that race?" the girl asked. "No," Samus answered. "She's an incarnation of Metroid Prime… it's another complicated thing."

"Where was your home, um… metal lady?" the girl asked. "Aboard one of Earth's colonies," Samus answered. "Can you tell me what your name is before you ask me any more questions?" "Ropster," the girl answered.

It couldn't have been Ropster Sunderland, could it?

"…What's your last name?" Samus questioned. "Sunderland," Ropster answered. "Ropster Sunderland, born to Rufo and Ebony Sunderland on K-2L."

Samus thought that this must have been one of Dark Samus' dirty tricks. But Dark Samus couldn't have known about Ropster… could she?

"…Ropster?" Samus asked, remembering every battered body-part of her friend. Bruised and torn arms. Torn clothes. Bleeding legs. A huge flesh wound in the side of her head.

"Yes, my name is Ropster," Ropster answered. "Ropster, it's me; Samus," Samus answered. "Samus Aran," "Samus?" Ropster asked. "_You survived_ the attack?" Samus removed her helmet and smiled at her. "Why is your hair long?" Ropster asked. "I decided it was more appropriate to have lengthened hair," Samus answered. She then knelt down to Ropster's level. "Ropster, I must ask you something," she then said seriously. "Have you seen Dark Prime?" "Who?" Ropster asked, raising her brow. Samus sighed. "She looks like Dark Samus but black with a red visor," she explained. Ropster thought hardly, then remembering. She stood up and said, "I have encountered her before with Dark Samus by her side."

"You have?" Samus asked, surprised. "What happened?" "I ran away," Ropster answered. "I was too afraid… But why does Dark Prime look like a kid?" "I don't know," Samus responded. "And why is she called 'Dark Prime'?" Ropster questioned. "Well… she's a prime who works with Dark Samus," Samus answered. "…So… shouldn't she be called Dark Samus Jr.?" Ropster asked. "Well, she also is a prime of Phazon," Samus continued. "…So… shouldn't she be called Phazon Prime?" Ropster questioned. Samus sighed. "It doesn't matter what she's called, all that matters is that she's highly dangerous and that you should avoid her at all costs."

…

Gandrayda sat down with her back against the cold wall, bored. "I hope that kid hasn't killed Sammy," she hoped, smiling immaturely to herself. "If she has, then that would be a sort of fail." She then heard Samus and Ropster coming back. Gandrayda morphed into the form of Ropster, laughing a little.

Samus and Ropster came through the door. Ropster looked at Gandrayda, confused. "Huh?" she asked. Gandrayda said it at the same time. Ropster raised her arm, as did her 'reflection'. She tilted her head to the side, as did Gandrayda. "Gandrayda, enough!" Samus snapped. Gandrayda laughed, morphing back to her normal form. "I see little miss runaway has been caught," she giggled. "Hey, I was frightened of you, okay?" Ropster excused. "It's not every day a 12 year-old girl encounters an alien," "Good point…" Gandrayda agreed. "Hey, Sammy, do I look scary to you?" Samus looked at her. "In some cases yes, Gandrayda," she answered. "Okay, now I'm just offended," Gandrayda grumbled, folding her arms. "That friendship lasted real long, you know, Sammy!" "Could you please just call me Samus?" Samus requested. "Why?" Gandrayda and Ropster asked at the same time. "Because it is irritating every time you say it," Samus answered. "And I have much more fire power than you."

The three began walking back to the Gunship. "So, kid, do you have a name?" Gandrayda asked. "Why, yes, my name is Ropster," Ropster answered. "Ropster Sunderland," "Cool. I'm Gandrayda, and that's Samus," Gandrayda replied. "I know," Ropster said. "Samus and I have been friends for years." Gandrayda then remembered that Samus once called her Ropster. "Oh, yeah, Samus has mentioned you before," she said. "Really?" Ropster asked. Gandrayda nodded. "She didn't actually want to speak about you, though…" she admitted. Ropster laughed a little. "She doesn't seem talkative right now," she assured. "She was never talkative, was she?" Gandrayda asked. "Well… not as much as me…" Ropster answered. "But right now she seems particularly silent – let alone depressed," "I can hear you back there," Samus said. Ropster and Gandrayda chuckled nervously.

Samus was the first to board the Gunship when they arrived. Ropster and Gandrayda had to sit at the back as Samus drove. Nobody spoke for a while, but Samus became suspicious. Ropster was alive again, which wasn't physically possible. And how did she manage to get from Bryyo to Norion? Something was up, and Samus had to find out what.


End file.
